Time of Our Lives
by Caylen
Summary: Maya Matlin is glad to have a best friend in Tori Santamaria, and when Tori invites Maya over for sleepover, she can't wait to spend more time with her. Based on their close friendship seen in Season 12, set after Got Your Money Part 2. Mori.


_**Time of Our Lives**_

* * *

Maya smiled up at her friend as she closed her binder, standing from the desk.

Tori met her smirk with her usual enthusiastic grin as they left the classroom together.

"It's finally Friday," Maya said. "Did you want to… wait, never mind, you've probably got plans with Zig." She muttered as she reconsidered her invitation, looking away.

"Actually Maya," Tori wrapped her arm around the shorter girl's shoulder. "I was hoping to spend the evening with my very best friend tonight. So, what do you say… will you sleep over? Please?"

Maya glanced over at her curly haired friend, her face plastered with a goofy grin that Maya couldn't help but find absolutely endearing. "Sounds perfect," she agreed readily.

Tori bounced up and down with glee and brought Maya along with her, her grip tightening around the blonde as they strolled through the hallway of the school. "We are going to have so much fun," she promised.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Maya smirked up at the brunette. She felt a surge of energy in the pit of her stomach and was anxious to see what the evening would hold for them.

* * *

Maya hadn't expected to have Tori as her best friend when the year had first begun. She had seemed like an attention seeking drama queen who was interested in the same guy as she was, so it was a little hard for her to believe how things had turned out. Maya packed her least embarrassing pajamas in her duffle bag as she wondered what a Santamaria sleepover would be like. Tori had turned out to be a fun-loving, charming friend to her over the past few months. Maya had gotten passed her temporary feelings for Zig easily enough once she'd started spending more time with Tori. It was more important to her to make friends than chase after a boy and she was glad to have given Tori the chance to change her mind about her first notion of her. Now that she had, she found herself always wanting to impress her and it seemed simple enough to achieve most of the time, as Tori would always compliment her or ask her to hang out. Maya found herself fishing for these types of praise from her friend, but Tori would give them without prompting or hesitation, calling her cute or trying to lend a hand when she needed one. Maya had never really had a best friend before and she loved the feeling she got when Tori would call her that. It would make her cheeks warm and she'd feel happy inside. Sure, she'd had some friends from music camp over the years, but no one really compared to Tori. She was more than excited to spend the night at her house and she grinned as she heard a chime come from her computer, indicating that the mix CD she had made was finished copying. Maya had chosen some songs she thought Tori would like; she knew the curly haired brunette didn't have much of a music library and Maya liked being her sort of musical guru. She pulled the CD from the drive and slipped it into a paper sleeve before zipping it into her bag. Maya slung it over her shoulder and headed downstairs.

"Where are you headed?" Katie asked her sister nonchalantly, sitting at the kitchen counter.

"I'm going to Tori's for a sleepover," Maya couldn't hide her smile as she spoke.

"Aw, how sweet," Katie cooed. "You two remind me of me and Mar back in the day."

Maya nodded, her smile only growing wider. Marisol was practically a member of the family for all the time she spent at the Matlin home throughout their friendship. Maya had yearned for a friend like that for herself for a long time, and if Katie thought that might be Tori, she was inclined to hope her older sister was right. "Yeah, I like hanging out with her," Maya said shyly.

"Well, you two have fun," Katie smiled softly. "But don't invite any boys over. They're all scum."

Maya stepped toward Katie and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "Thanks," she smiled apologetically, knowing her sister was referring to her all too recent run in with her cheating ex-boyfriend. "And don't worry; there won't be any boys around."

Katie nodded at her sister and Maya walked out of the kitchen, meeting her father in the living room.

"You all set?" he asked, taking the bag slung over her shoulder.

Maya nodded and followed him to the car, eager for the night to begin.

* * *

"Maya, you're here!" Tori beamed, throwing her arms around the tiny girl and clutching her tightly. Maya hugged her back in the doorway, focusing on keeping her balance. Pulling back after a moment, Maya turned and waved to her dad as her backed out of the driveway. Tori grabbed Maya's bag that had fallen to the ground during their hug and ushered May inside the house.

"So this is the famous Maya I've been hearing all about," Ms. Santamaria greeted the blonde with a smile much like her daughter's. Maya shook her hand and offered a pleasant 'hello,' noticing the blush that also seemed to be occupying her friend's cheeks.

"_Mom_," Tori whined, looking embarrassed. "Didn't you have to go to the store or something?"

"Yes, sweetie," she chuckled at her daughter. "And it was very nice meeting you Maya; I'll be back a bit later then. Now don't get into any trouble while I'm gone!" Ms. Santamaria directed her last statement back at Tori again with a wink. Tori waved dramatically at her mother and practically pushed her out the front door, while she only laughed and shook her head in response before walking to her car.

Closing the door behind her mom, Tori turned to Maya. "So, first, I thought we could bake some cookies!" Tori squealed, looking back intermittently at Maya as she led her out of the foyer. "I'll just put your bag here for now." She dropped it onto the couch. "We can take it up to my room later," she said with a smile.

Maya went to the bag and pulled out the CD she'd made. "How about some tunes while we bake?" she suggested with a smirk.

"Ooh! Perfect!" Tori bounced over to her and took the CD, putting it into her player that sat in the corner of the living room.

_Time of Our Lives_ by Paul Van Dyke was the first song to spring from the speakers. The girls made their way to the kitchen as the music picked up. Tori shook her hips along with the beat, smiling at Maya as she handed her the flour.

Maya took the flour and poured it into the measuring cup after reading the recipe that Tori had laid out on the counter. "You like?" she asked hopefully.

Tori tapped the spoon on the counter to the rhythm of the music. "Yeah, it's really catchy," she enthused.

Maya grinned, feeling accomplished that Tori approved of her song choice.

"Oh, this is the time… of our lives…" Tori sang along with the music now that the chorus had become familiar. She turned to Maya and grabbed her hands, moving her arms to dance with her. Maya swayed her hips along with Tori's, and the brunette lifted up her arms up and placed them around her neck.

Tori moved closer to Maya as they danced, gazing into her eyes in a way that drove Maya to forget about being rational.

Before Maya could think another rational thought, she moved forward and caught Tori's lips with her own, kissing her fully on the mouth. She weaved her flour-covered hands into Tori's curly tresses as she moved her lips eagerly against her friend's, before they toppled backward onto the floor. Maya froze in shock once she'd realized what she'd done, her face still hovering closely to Tori's.

Tori pulled back hesitantly, her brown eyes looking up at Maya, unreadable. "So… what happens at a sleepover stays at a sleepover, right?" she asked.

Maya nodded slowly, figuring it was the answer Tori wanted to hear. Her face was flushed and her heart was beating rapidly as she sat perched on the kitchen tile; she was petrified she'd ruined their friendship.

"Okay then," Tori's features softened. She leaned back in and kissed Maya's lips gently. The smaller girl stiffened for a moment in surprise, but found herself on autopilot soon enough, her lips pressing back against Tori's before they parted again.

Maya smiled at Tori and Tori smiled back at her. She didn't know what this meant, but she knew she didn't want to mess it up. She stood up and held out a hand to Tori, lifting up her friend. "You've got flour in your hair," Maya chuckled.

Tori let go of the blonde's hand and dipped it into the open pouch that sat on the counter. She poked her finger lightly on Maya's nose, leaving behind the white powder in the shape of her fingerprint. "And _you've_ got flour on your nose!" she laughed.

Maya's mouth fell open in feigned anger. "You _so_ did not just do that!"

Tori ran from the kitchen and bounded up the stairs, Maya trailing closely behind her. The two were giggling loudly in the chase, which then made its way back downstairs and into the living room, where Tori hid behind the sofa. Maya crawled back behind the couch and grabbed the brunette's hand before she had a chance to get away again. She pulled her close and this time kissed her deeply, wrapping her arms around her neck. Tori reciprocated by tugging at the cloth of Maya's blouse, drawing her in even nearer before she found her arms around her waist. Maya smiled into the kiss. She wasn't so sure they'd ever finish baking the cookies, but she was okay with that.

The End.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I just love the Mori relationship so I wanted to write a cute little something about them :) And for my wonderful readers of my other stories, I want to let you know that I have not abandoned my in progress Kianca or Folly J stories (Spectrum and Mess)… I do plan on finishing both; I just need a bit of inspiration but hopefully that will come soon. I will try to get updates for you all soon and, as usual, reviews never hurt ;)_


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